History fans will enjoy this nostalgic film advertisement from the the tube (valve) manufacturer Mullard in England. They use English actor Jon Pertwee (Dr Who and The Navy Lark) in this piece about the impact of Mullard vacuum tubes and the evolution of sound. It’s a campy video reminiscent of the cereal sponsored programs of the 50’s but it is amusing and really shows how our listening habits were initially changed through the innovations of the vacuum tube. Including, I should add, the advent of FM radio and the early challenges taken on by Mullard and other firms to engineer out that which we don’t want to hear. The only thing missing is the Tardis which begs the questions was it tube powered?

More history from Mullard Limited. and also a link to more vacuum tube history videos found.